US stock futures rise as investors weigh Democrats' midterm sweep
Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, reversing sharp early losses, as investors weighed the Democrats' sweeping midterm victories and what they could mean for AI spending and regulation.
Democrats took control of both the Senate and House, scoring wins in Republican strongholds for the first time in generations and ushering in a new era of divided government in Washington.
Global stocks swung between gains and losses as investors weighed the prospects of tougher regulation, higher taxes and oversight of areas such as AI and cryptocurrencies.
US stock futures had initially declined after the results, with Nasdaq-100 NQcv1 futures falling as much as 2.4% and S&P 500 futures EScv1 down 1.4%. However, they clawed back those losses after US President Donald Trump accepted the election results and acknowledged that the war in Iran played a role in Republicans' losses.
"This has helped ease some concerns about prolonged political confrontation and legislative gridlock, although his continued veto powers mean significant policy disagreements remain likely," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
At 4:22 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 436 points, or 0.84%, and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 26.75 points, or 0.35%. Nasdaq-100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 44.75 points, or 0.16%.
The AI trade will be in focus after Democrats made gains in key data-center states, where public opposition to the industry's rapid expansion has been growing.
Aidan Yao, senior investment strategist for Asia at the Amundi Investment Institute, said restrictions on the AI boom could inject significant uncertainty into the outlook for the US economy, inflation and monetary policy.
Shares of data center-related companies dropped in premarket trading, with IREN IREN.O, Hut 8 HUT.O and Applied Digital APLD.O all trading lower. Neoclouds Nebius NBIS.O and CoreWeave CRWV.O also fell.
Shares of some the biggest hyperscalers were mixed. Amazon.com AMZN.O, Microsoft MSFT.O and Meta Platforms META.O were trading higher, while Alphabet GOOGL.O lagged with a 0.3% decline.
Elon Musk-led SpaceX SPCX.O and Tesla TSLA.O fell around 4% each.
The AI trade has been under pressure as investors grow wary of Big Tech's soaring AI spending and little evidence of adequate returns. The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 .NDX confirmed it had entered a technical correction on Monday.
Meanwhile, AMD AMD.Ojumped 6.2% after the chipmaker forecast faster-than-expected 2027 growth as its data-center sales surge and its multibillion-dollar challenge to Nvidia gathers pace.
Broader chip stocks were also among early gainers, with Nvidia up 0.5%, Micron Technology MU.O rising 0.1% and Broadcom AVGO.O climbing 0.2%.
Ride-hailing firm Uber UBER.N, fast-food chain McDonald's MCD.N and health insurer CVS Health CVS.N are some of the prominent companies reporting before the bell on Wednesday.
Shares of solar companies were among early gainers as well, with SolarEdge Technologies SEDG.O up 3%, First Solar FSLR.O 8.1% and Canadian Solar CSIQ.O 7%.
Investors will also look out for the impact on the US' deteriorating fiscal picture, as political gridlock may make it harder to agree on new spending. Yields on long-dated Treasuries, which move inverse to prices, moved lower on the day.
Stocks and midterm elections https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-STOCKS/zdpxeblxqvx/stocksmidterms.png
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jiaxing Li; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)